A 62-YEAR-OLD landlord who plied his female tenant with alcohol and then raped her has been jailed for seven years.

Michael Paul O’Leary of Four Winds, Ballyarthur, Fermoy, Co Cork was convicted in February of this year of raping a woman in her thirties. 

The victim in the case, Lorita O’Donoghue, waived her right to anonymity in order to facilitate the naming of Mr O’Leary. 

In a statement after the sentencing Ms O’Donoghue said that the criminal justice system is “tough on the victim” but that people who find themselves in her situation should “take courage” from the outcome of her case.

The trial, which occurred at a sitting of the Central Criminal Court in Cork, heard that the rape of Ms O’Donoghue occurred in May 2022. 

Mr O’Leary had rented a property in Fermoy, Co Cork to Ms O’Donoghue and her fiancé and lived adjacent to them. 

On 28 May, 2022 Mr O’Leary texted Ms O’Donoghue asking her if she would like to share a drink as he had just opened a bottle of wine.

Having shared a drink the man poured a brandy for her and then kept topping up her glass. Ms O’Donoghue had not consented to the filling up of her glass. 

Ms O’Donoghue passed out and when she awoke her clothes had been taken off and the father of three was having sex with her. She tried to push Mr O’Leary off her and told him to stop.

In a victim impact statement, Ms O’Donoghue said that she is living a life sentence as a result of what occurred.

She also described the showing of her underwear in court during the trial as being an “out of body experience”.

Ms O’Donoghue described her attacker as not having a shred of remorse for his actions. She stated that he had “disrespected and defiled her”, using her as an object for his own “warped sense of pleasure”.

She said whilst she got the highest standard of care, the experience of going to the sexual assault clinic was “like being a corpse in a morgue”.

“I was numb and broken. I felt like I had died inside.”

Ms O’Donoghue suffers from PTSD, depression, panic attacks, chest pains, nightmares and flashbacks arising out of what was done to her. 

She said that every aspect of the trial was an ordeal.

“I found every aspect of the trial to be traumatising.

“I found the cross-examination to be highly humiliating. I felt my intelligence was insulted. I felt stupid and belittled. My honesty and integrity were challenged and that was hard to bear, especially with all that I had been through already. 

“My underwear (being) shown in court and my SATU (Sexual Assault Trauma Unit) examination report being read out was another out of body experience.”

Ms O’Donoghue said that it was “distressing” to have to listen to the landlord’s fabricated account of what had occurred.

“We both knew the truth. Firstly, committing the crime was such a violent and degrading act but then to drag me through the entire trial process advocating your innocence… was a further degradation.”

“The gruesome memory of what you did to me will never leave me. As a victim, this is a life sentence.”

Ms O’Donoghue urged other victims of sexual violence to come forward.

“I urge you to take back your power – speak your truth. You will be believed.  

“Each time you speak out you are reducing the social silence that these monsters thrive in.

“I commend anyone who has done this before me and to those suffering in silence I encourage you to find your inner strength and courage because you have it.”

The woman said that it was quite scary to think that individuals like the accused exist in society.

“People like you who have lived all their lives to the age they are thinking it’s ok to treat a woman like you treated me.

“You have taken my right to live a normal life, my freedom. As a human and as a woman I should have the free will to be in any place, at any time, wearing whatever I wear, drunk or sober without the risk of being raped.

“Your chosen actions are a direct violation of a person’s autonomy and free will. My ability to choose was forcefully taken away from me, by you.

“There is so much I want to say about how victims are treated in the Criminal Justice System and even though I had great support from the Gardai and others, the experience was devastating and cruel.

“I am grateful to the jury that they found you guilty and now you are being held to account for what you did to me.”

Ms O’Donoghue said that what the man had done to her was an “utter violation” of her mind, body and soul.

“What you did to me was an utter violation of my mind, my body and my soul.

“Aside from the utter disrespect of raping me, you put my life at risk,” she said.

“To me this is a deeper aspect of the crime you committed. You left me exposed to STIs, HIV, pregnancy and cervical cancer.

“I still cannot fully put into words how this part of the crime has shaken me to my core. It is the ultimate disrespect to someone’s life.”

Ms O’Donoghue thanked Detective Garda Rachel McGrath and Mary Crilly of the Cork Sexual Violence Centre for their help.

She also expressed gratitude to her husband, family and friends, to SATU, the Rape Crisis Centres, the presiding judge the DPP and counsel.

Conor Devally SC, for the State, said that the woman was in a vulnerable position given that she was the tenant of the accused. He told the court that the accused had deliberately plied the woman with alcohol.

In sentencing the man to seven years prison today, Ms Justice Siobhan Lankford said what had happened to the victim was a gross breach of trust.

She noted that Mr O’Leary, who was without previous convictions, had built up a successful construction business having emigrated to the US.

She also said that Tom Creed, counsel for the defence, had indicated to her that his client was a “rower of some repute and had rowed internationally”.

She set the headline sentence for the crime at eight years. She gave Mr O’Leary some credit for his work in the community in Fermoy.

However, she said she could take no more than a year off the sentence given his lack of remorse for his actions.

“He doesn’t accept the verdict and maintains his innocence.”

Ms Justice Lankford  described as an aggravating matter the breach of trust which occurred between landlord and tenant and the fact that the offender and the victim were effectively neighbours.

She backdated the sentence to when Mr O’Leary first entered custody on 11 February last.

Ms Justice Lankford commended Ms O’Donoghue for her “bravery and clarity” in dealing with matters.

Speaking after the sentencing, Ms O’Donoghue said that she was a “survivor of rape” and had “nothing to be embarrassed or ashamed of”. 

“What happened to me was wrong and was a choice made by someone who had absolutely no right to and I’ve been paying the price for since.

“Every single aspect of my life has been so much harder and I have had to find the courage and strength to reclaim my life bit by bit and to be here today

“I have struggled with feelings of shame and self blame. But the shame and blame is on Michael Paul O’Leary.”

Ms O’Donoghue said that unfortunately victim blaming and rape culture exist around us and is “protecting and giving power to monsters like him”.

“When you see or hear about a victim of rape, remember please don’t question or doubt them – question or doubt the perpetrator.

“These crimes must stop. Victims are speaking out; you will be named and shamed. You should fear the punishment and I hope these sentences get longer and harsher.

I am very grateful that this case got to court and the jury found him guilty of rape. I hope my voice can inspire others and that they can overcome this ordeal too.

“Please try to report it. Whether your case gets to court or not, please know that there is hope, you are strong because you survived it and you will get your life back.”